US Mass Shootings Megathread - read OP

Long Sean Silver · 26-10-2023 9:14am

funny i was only thinking to myself the US hasn't had a mass shooting in some months. perhaps behind the scenes Biden has gotten the Gun Nuts over there to cop themselves on?"

sadly i was mistaken, and 'er "normal" service has been resumed.

Thoughts & Prayers .... blah, blah, blah .....

tastyt · 26-10-2023 9:15am

Without doubt the right for anybody to own a gun is the main issue here

It makes you think though about how fcked up people have become . What is wrong in the world that so many men feel the only option left in life is to go and murder crowds of innocent people? Why did this not happen so often back in 50”s / 60”s America ? What has happened in the last 50 years to make this a regular occurrence?

Is it drugs ? Both prescribed and illegal ? Or the total enslavement of people to big corporations, wages driven down that people can’t find a way out of a hole they are in . The break up of the normal family unit ? Whatever it is , the US is in a horrible place

McFly85 · 26-10-2023 9:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285207#Comment_121285207

By the metric of having someone shoot at multiple people and kill at least one, the last mass shooting was yesterday.

It has become so commonplace that it only becomes news if you kill many more or it’s at a school.

Podge_irl · 26-10-2023 9:31am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285206#Comment_121285206

A mental illness does not by default lead to diminished responsibility. Mental illness also doesn't generally lead to outbursts of violence though.

Ultimately rapidash is correct - the underlying main problem is the easy availability of firearms.

Long Sean Silver · 26-10-2023 9:31am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285235#Comment_121285235

you are right. it's as common-place as RTAs over here so they've lost their shock factor. for the perpetrator to get (it's usually men) to "enjoy" his moment of glory/infamy, then he needs to up the ante by claiming double digit victims.

the wearing of bodycams and live streaming has also added a new and horrific dimension to this madness.

Thoughts & Prayers .... blah, blah, blah .....

Long Sean Silver · 26-10-2023 9:36am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D-l1MauBmM

The lads were spot on.

tastyt · 26-10-2023 9:48am

The mental illness argument is a side show and a separate conversation

The only mental illness that exists in the US that isn’t in the rest of the world is the obsession and religious like belief that you should be allowed own a gun

eightieschewbaccy · 26-10-2023 9:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285191#Comment_121285191

The guy offered himself up to mental health services cause he was disconnecting from reality. Read about things like schizophrenia and such, when such things go unmedicated then things can rapidly go wrong. This includes killing loved ones and they absolutely feel remorse after the fact when they get treatment. If this is the case in this scenario, then yep it's more complex than being an evil arsehole.

The issue here is if the mental health facility story is true, he wasn't kept in a facility and treated. Instead he was released and could home to an armory. At least if the latter wasn't available, his damage would have been limited.

Rows Grower · 26-10-2023 9:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285075#Comment_121285075

We have our very own "gun lobby" group here in Ireland which you can join or for just 2 euro a month become a patreon. They recently removed their claim that they represented 100 million legal gun owners in the EU when I pointed out to them there was only a quarter of that many existed.

Have a look at the recruitment video in this link (where they still claim to represent 50 million legal gun owners in Europe).

You'd have to wonder what kind of people they are attempting to appeal to with this video and what kind of mentality they have to make such a video.

https://firearmsunited.ie/

McFly85 · 26-10-2023 10:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285329#Comment_121285329

Thats bizarre, and a very American approach to gun laws.

I doubt they could do anything if push came to shove on any gun law change - I would imagine any governmental decision to restrict guns in Ireland would easily have cross party support and a significant majority of the publics approval.

Beasty · 26-10-2023 10:11am

Threads merged

Rows Grower · 26-10-2023 10:15am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285360#Comment_121285360

Bizarre is putting it lightly and I say that as a shooting enthusiast.

water-man · 26-10-2023 10:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285209#Comment_121285209

For the last 100 years good men have been sent off to war with each war becoming more terrible than the last, did terrible things, saw terrible things, saw their friends die and then came home. Once home they where told to go back to normal and don't talk about what happened as that is "weak". "Strong" men are silent. These men became dads and their sons saw how they coped, some maybe ok but majority not, and used alcohol, drugs, violence. These sons went off to war came home became dads...... The USA is now unfortunately reaping what was sowing and the lack of support for their veterans when they returned from these terrible conflicts in my mind plays a huge part of "Why USA".

Rows Grower · 26-10-2023 10:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285483#Comment_121285483

How do you explain the mass shootings that have happened in all the other countries?

The simple reason most of them happen in the USA is the easy availability of semi automatic and fully automatic rifles. Over there people have a right to own them and they can even be bought in low price supermarkets that sell bread and milk.

Thankfully here gun ownership is a privilage and not a right but that doesn't mean nut jobs can't get their hands on them.

Ashbourne hoop · 26-10-2023 10:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285012#Comment_121285012

Or even going to school. Sandy Hook should have been the catalyst for change but it wasn't, and then when nothing was done after Uvalde you knew the game was up. America is a destroyed country at this stage. Things like what kids are reading and learning in school, transgender issue, abortion etc have taken precedent over things like gun control. And its impossible to see things changing any time soon. A mess of a country.

BrianD3 · 26-10-2023 11:00am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285256#Comment_121285256

Mass shootings in the US are uncommon and when they do occur it's often in gang or domestic violence situations. The chance of a law abiding person being shot in a mass shooting as they go about their business or attend school/college etc. is small. They are in no way comparable to RTAs over here.

565 mass shooting incidents so far this year in the US which given the definition of a mass shooting, don't necessarily result in multiple or any fatalities.. I have seen figures which estimate the number of fatalities per incident as about 1.2

The number of deaths in mass shooting is dwarfed by the overall number of gun related deaths which is about 45,000 per year of which about 25,000 are gun suicides. Number of deaths on US roads is about 42,000. Deaths from cancer around 600,000. Total deaths around 3.2 million.

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

Christy42 · 26-10-2023 11:07am

Always try and see both sides of these arguments but the one I can't wrap my head around is people saying this is why they only go places they are allowed concealed carry for safety.

It just seems such a depressing way of life to live in such fear.

26-10-2023 12:20pm

"Now is NOT the time to talk about gun control!

Let's wait untill it's quiet so we can ignore you easier"

American politicians, probably

Boggles · 26-10-2023 2:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285571#Comment_121285571

Mass shootings in the US are uncommon

Which western countries have you compared them with to come to that conclusion?

Rows Grower · 26-10-2023 2:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121286434#Comment_121286434

They're so uncommon that you can't even start a new thread on Boards.ie about one, they are now all confined to a Megathread.

Overheal · 26-10-2023 2:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121286511#Comment_121286511

IMHO it makes the board a little less handy to use for referencing, as often times old shootings get called up time and again and there are old convos to look back on, findable again by specific thread titles.

But from an administrative perspective, appreciate that in most of those threads, trillions of elections are slaughtered in the name of making the same circular arguments about gun control all over again because the people in charge of the political hegemony are so far fine with the situation.

BrianD3 · 26-10-2023 2:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121286434#Comment_121286434

Did I mention anything about comparing the US with any other country. The people making comparisons are others in this thread - such as the poster who thinks that US mass shootings are "as common-place as RTAs over here". Clearly nonsense no matter whether taking about deaths or incidents. About 2 mass shootings per day in the US this year. In a country of 330 million people. Deaths from mass shootings make up about 2% of gun deaths and about 0.03% of overall deaths. Yeah, mass shootings and mass shooting deaths in the US are uncommon.

The reason that media and posters in this forum are obsessed with US mass shootings is because both US politics and disaster porn is a form of entertainment,

Not a word about the 25,000 people that take their own lives using guns each year in the US. Or the 42,000 that die on US roads.

.

Boggles · 26-10-2023 3:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121286707#Comment_121286707

Did I mention anything about comparing the US with any other country

No. That's why I asked.

So you have come to the conclusion they are uncommon without comparing.

That doesn't sound very scientific does it?

Not a word about the 25,000 people that take their own lives using guns each year in the US. Or the 42,000 that die on US roads.

Checks thread title.

US Mass Shootings Megathread

Rows Grower · 26-10-2023 3:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121286707#Comment_121286707

22 innocent people murdered, dozens injured, the suspect is still on the loose and people discussing it on a discussion forum are "obsessed"?

If you want to start threads on American people that commit suicide by guns or die in road traffic accidents feel free to start two new threads because it has the square root of f**k all to do with this discussion.

delboythedub · 26-10-2023 3:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285253#Comment_121285253

America /USA has the highest % of guns per population in the world (and in my opinion place very little value on a human life )and then when you look at Switzerland who has the 3rd highest % of guns per population there very very few problems. Me thinks if the USA gave up its world wide military crusade and spent it on properly educating its young people things could change over there for the better.

BrianD3 · 26-10-2023 3:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121286804#Comment_121286804

No, I compared - just not the comparison you wanted to use. I don't care if it sounds unscientific.

Sounds like you think it was incorrect to describe mass shooting deaths (0.03% of US overall mortality and 2% of gun deaths) as "uncommon". Everyone's entitled to their opinion even if they have an unusual interpretation of what constitutes common and uncommon.

PS Do you think that US mass shootings are as common place as RTAs in this country as per one poster? Do you think that people in the US should be anxious about sending their children to school due to mass shootings as per other posters?

The reason we need a Megathread on these incidents is because of the disaster porn fans itching to start a politically charged thread every time something happened in the US. As for the thread title and me bringing in other causes of death - I thought you wanted comparisons? Maybe you should ask the mods to change the title to "US Mass Shootings vs Other Country Mass Shootings Because That's What Boggles Wants"?